The remaining Eighth Route Army cavalry troops launched an attack on the city wall of the county town. The officers and soldiers opened fire with guns in hand and shouted loudly. They set up mortars and fired at the enemy troops on the city wall with great momentum.
The Japanese and puppet troops in the city thought that the Eighth Route Army was about to attack the county town, so they opened fire outside the city and kept throwing grenades to prevent the Eighth Route Army from approaching the city wall.
Wing Commander Watanabe Katsuo was awakened by the sound of gunfire outside the city and immediately ordered people to understand the situation. When he learned that due to his caution, he had avoided a sneak attack by the Eighth Route Army, he was secretly grateful. He was very worried about the main force of the Eighth Route Army attacking the city. After all, his cavalry regiment was good at fighting on horseback and was not good at street fighting. So he called up all the resting Japanese soldiers and asked them to defend on the city wall.
Sun Desheng and Wei Monk led the troops to rush northwestward. Their goal was to attack the Japanese cavalry brigade coming for reinforcements.
The intelligence work of the Mawushan Military Division was very good. When the Japanese cavalry brigade entered Shanxi, they were always under their surveillance. Originally, Sun Desheng and Wei Monk planned to first eat the Japanese cavalry regiment in the county, and then deal with their cavalry brigade.
Since their sneak attack was unsuccessful and the two sides started a fierce battle, they guessed that the Japanese cavalry captain would definitely report the situation to their superiors and urge the cavalry brigade to come over as soon as possible for reinforcements.
The enemy's cavalry brigade believed that the main cavalry force of the Eighth Route Army was fighting the cavalry regiment in Gaozhuang County. They would not take precautions on the way, but would just rush on. This was the perfect opportunity for the cavalry brigade and the special operations brigade to ambush them. fighter plane. In this way, what was originally a night sneak attack turned into a reinforcement attack.
Monk Wei and Sun Desheng's guess was indeed correct. In the county town, Katsuo Watanabe urged the troops to go to the city wall to defend. At the same time, he reported what happened here to the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters and asked them to urge the cavalry brigade to come as soon as possible. reinforce.
Yoshio Shinozuka knew that the cavalry of the Chahar Dispatch Army was originally unwilling to help the Japanese army in Shanxi. If they lost this cavalry regiment again, I am afraid that the Japanese cavalry brigade that came for reinforcements would immediately turn around and return to Chahar. direction.
Not only that, but it may not be possible to ask the cavalry troops of the Chahar Dispatch Army to help in the future.
Therefore, Yoshio Shinozuka immediately sent a telegram to the cavalry brigade, explaining the situation here and asking them to rush to Gaozhuang County for reinforcements.
Watanabe Katsuo's cavalry regiment is also a regiment of this cavalry brigade. To the brigade commander, this is his troops, and of course he cannot let them be eliminated. So he called up the sleeping Japanese cavalry and led them on the road all night long.
Sun Desheng and Monk Wei had walked the road from Taiyuan to Chahar before, and they had also killed a Japanese cavalry brigade before. They were very familiar with this road, and they already knew where to ambush.
Because they were familiar with the road conditions, they were also able to roughly calculate the time it would take for the Japanese cavalry brigade to reach the ambush location, so they could calmly arrange the battlefield.
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Three hours later, Sun Desheng and Wei Monk led their troops to a hilly area. The road passed through the middle of the valley, and the terrain was very favorable. Regardless of fatigue, the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army immediately entered the ambush position.
The Japanese marching speed calculated by Sun Desheng and Wei Monk was quite accurate. It was less than 25 minutes away from their scheduled time when they heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves in the darkness.
The surveillance post in front called and reported that the main force of the Japanese cavalry had been discovered and that they would enter the ambush circle in three minutes at most.
The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and a large number of Japanese cavalry could be seen moving quickly on the road under the moonlight.
There is a hilly area ahead, and the terrain is relatively complex. If it were normal, the Japanese army would be very vigilant and would send people to search this area to avoid being ambushed. But they now knew that the cavalry troops of the Eighth Route Army were in Gaozhuang County, so they didn't take any precautions and still hurried on their way.
With a "boom", the vanguard of the Japanese cavalry stepped on a mine buried on the road. Through the fire generated by the explosion, you can see that the Japanese cavalry was blown up. Then came the tragic death of the Japanese cavalry. The cry and the neighing of war horses.
The sound of the explosion was an order to fire. The officers and soldiers of the cavalry brigade and the special operations brigade ambushing on the hillsides on both sides opened fire fiercely at the Japanese troops on the road.
The Japanese brigade commander never dreamed that he would be ambushed here. He wholeheartedly wanted to rescue Watanabe Katsuo's cavalry regiment, but he did not expect that it was Watanabe Katsuo who reported to him that the main force of the Eighth Route Army's cavalry was in Gaozhuang County, which dug a big hole for him.
The brigade commander was very angry. He didn't know whether he should hate his subordinates who lied to him about the military situation, or whether he should hate the Eighth Route Army on the hillside. But this was no longer important, because before he could figure it out, a series of machine gun bullets After being beaten, he was hit by at least seven or eight bullets and fell off his horse.
The ambush position was chosen so advantageously that the Japanese cavalry had nowhere to hide on the road and suffered huge casualties in a short period of time.
The Japanese cavalry were also very brave. Those Japanese soldiers who were lucky enough to survive jumped off their horses and each looked for cover on the side of the road to fight back against the Eighth Route Army.
While the Eighth Route Army was firing fiercely down the mountain with machine guns, it also launched a charge towards the Japanese troops on the road.
If it is daytime, the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers will not launch a charge immediately. They will use the favorable terrain and superior firepower to eliminate the enemy as much as possible.
But at night, the distance is too far and some cannot be seen clearly, so the firepower is less effective. However, this also provides another benefit, that is, when the Eighth Route Army troops charge down the mountain, the enemy troops cannot see clearly, which effectively reduces the casualties of the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers.
The reason why the troops were ordered to charge was because the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army wanted to make full use of the favorable conditions on the terrain. They rushed to a place six to seventy meters close to the road, stopped again, and then threw a large number of grenades and hand grenades down the mountain.
The officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army were condescending and could easily throw grenades and hand grenades onto the road from a distance of 60 to 70 meters. Moreover, many grenades and grenades could explode in the air, causing heavy damage to the Japanese army.
On the other hand, when the Japanese soldiers were at the foot of the mountain, their grenades could not be thrown that far, so they were bombed there.
The Japanese cavalry brigade has only two cavalry regiments and the brigade headquarters here, with about 4,000 people.
The Eighth Route Army's cavalry brigade and special operations brigade participating in the ambush battle also had more than 3,000 troops. The Eighth Route Army's cavalry was mounted infantry, relying on its firepower advantage. The Japanese army was purely cavalry, and its firepower was far inferior to the Eighth Route Army that ambushed them. Coupled with the sudden attack by the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army was completely at a disadvantage. The battle lasted for less than two hours, and basically all the Japanese troops on the road were wiped out.
The officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army knew that the Japanese army was very tenacious. Even the wounded soldiers who fell on the road could rush down and cause casualties to the Eighth Route Army. Therefore, Wei Monk and Sun Desheng did not order the troops to search. They just saw that if the enemy fought back and used firepower, they would stay here until dawn.
Seeing that the enemy's cavalry was basically annihilated, Sun Desheng issued a retreat order to the three cavalry squadrons remaining in Gaozhuang County to prevent them from being surrounded and annihilated by heavy enemy troops.
The three cavalry squadrons responsible for the sheep attack knew that the main force had eaten up the main force of the Japanese cavalry brigade. They had successfully completed the task of confusing the enemy, so they quickly evacuated.
Since the Japanese cavalry brigade was quickly defeated, they had no chance to send a telegram to the outside. Therefore, the Japanese regiment in Gaozhuang County did not receive news of the attack on the cavalry brigade.
Watanabe Katsuo was still urging the soldiers to stick to the city wall to prevent the enemy from attacking the city. When he saw the enemy's cavalry suddenly withdrawing from the county town, he secretly felt lucky, thinking that the enemy had been repulsed, so he went to rest with peace of mind.
It was getting brighter, and the Eighth Route Army troops on the hillsides on both sides of the road could already see clearly what was happening on the road. For those Japanese troops who were still resisting, they carried out another fierce attack. It was not until they saw that the Japanese cavalry at the bottom of the mountain was basically motionless that they went down the mountain to search.
With a burst of sporadic gunfire, the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army eliminated the scattered remaining soldiers and began to clean the battlefield.
Sun Desheng and Wei Monk destroyed the main force of the Japanese cavalry brigade in this battle, and they were very satisfied with this.
They sent a telegram to Xu Dalong, reporting the good news to them, and then led the cavalry brigade and special operations brigade back to Gaozhuang County to eliminate the Japanese cavalry regiment left there.
In the coalition headquarters, Zhang Dabiao took the victory telegram sent by Sun Desheng and Wei Monk and said excitedly: "Sun Desheng and Wei Monk have done a great job. They have killed the main force of the Japanese cavalry brigade. Wait until they are destroyed again." Without the remaining Japanese cavalry regiment, the enemy's rear will no longer be able to live safely."
Li Yunlong said with satisfaction: "These two brats Sun Desheng and Wei Monk are indeed the soldiers led by Lao Zi himself. They are becoming more and more promising now."
When Zhao Gang heard that Li Yunlong was bragging about himself again, he laughed and said, "Old Li, Sun Desheng and Monk Wei have become so outstanding now, but they were all brought out by the captain himself. How much does it have to do with you?"
Li Yunlong smiled and said: "Old Zhao, you have to speak with your conscience. Sun Desheng was obtained by Lao Zi in exchange for five light machine guns from Ding Wei. Monk Wei was my guard. If I hadn't handed them over to Brother Dalong, how could they have the opportunity to become so successful?"
Zhang Dabiao smiled and said: "Commander, you did buy Sun Desheng with a machine gun, but Monk Wei was rescued by Zhao Zhengwei. Monk Wei must first be returned to Zhao Zhengwei. You were the one who saved Zhao Zheng from the beginning." Commissioner Zheng snatched it from his hands and asked Monk Wei to be your guard, but you still have the nerve to say so."
Li Yunlong laughed and scolded: "Zhang Dabiao, you stinky boy! Now you have learned to joke with Lao Zi, let's see if Lao Zi doesn't deal with you."
The news of victory not only shocked leaders such as Xu Dalong and Zhao Gang. I was very happy, even the staff members were all smiling. Everyone knows that after killing the Japanese cavalry, the cavalry units of Sun Desheng and Wei Monk will play a huge role behind enemy lines. The Japanese army will deploy a large number of troops to deal with them, and the pressure on our army on the Licheng front will be reduced a lot. In the future The days will get better and better.
Xu Dalong also reported the news to Chu Yunfei and the commander of the 68th Division. They were very excited to hear the good news and also reported the good news to their units.
The morale of the officers and soldiers of the Jinsui Army was greatly boosted, and they became more confident in the next battle.
Wei Monk and Sun Desheng led the cavalry brigade and special operations brigade back to Gaozhuang County, preparing to eliminate the Japanese cavalry regiment remaining in the city.
However, when they arrived at the county town, they found that the gate of the county town was wide open. Not only the Japanese cavalry regiment had lost its trace, but also the Japanese gendarmerie, Huang Xiejun and the pseudo-policemen in the county town had all disappeared.
It turned out that after the main force of the Japanese cavalry brigade was wiped out, the commander of the regiment got the news and knew that the cavalry troops of the Eighth Route Army would come to deal with his cavalry regiment next.
He knew very well that even the main force of the cavalry brigade could not deal with them, and his own mere cavalry regiment was no match for them. If you still stay here, the risk is too great.
He was very worried, so he sent a telegram directly to the commander of the Chahar Expeditionary Army, hoping to quickly leave Shanxi and return to the Chahar Expeditionary Army.
The commander of the Chahar Expeditionary Force was extremely depressed. His troops were kings and hegemons in the Chahar area, and their lives were always very leisurely. Yoshio Shinozuka was a broom star. Because of him, the cavalry troops of the Chahar Expeditionary Army entered Shanxi many times, and almost the entire army was destroyed every time. Who can bear such a heavy blow?
Not long ago, he and Shinozuka Yoshio took the lawsuit to the front army headquarters, and had no choice but to send a brigade of cavalry to Shanxi. As a result, not long after entering Shanxi, they were eaten by the Eighth Route Army. He knew very well that if the remaining cavalry regiment did not leave Shanxi quickly, the final result would still be annihilation by the Eighth Route Army.
The commander of the Chahar Expeditionary Force no longer bothered to pay attention to Yoshio Shinozuka. He directly issued an order to the cavalry regiment captain, asking him to immediately lead the cavalry regiment to leave Shanxi and return to the Chahar area.
The captain of the cavalry regiment was waiting for this order. After receiving the telegram, he led his cavalry regiment to leave Gaozhuang County without hesitation.
The Japanese and puppet troops in the county saw all the cavalry regiments running away. They were worried that the Eighth Route Army would come to attack the city again. With their few remaining soldiers and generals, they were no match for others.
The gendarmerie captain led the gendarmerie team and fled the county first. Huang Xiejun, the pseudo-police and other traitors in the city also hurriedly left the county.
Sun Desheng and Wei Monk picked up a county town in vain, but they did not stay in this county town for too long. After replenishing supplies, they left the county town to chase the escaping Japanese cavalry regiment.
The Japanese cavalry unit ran too fast. Watanabe Katsuo was very cautious. In order to avoid exposing his whereabouts and being overtaken by the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army, he led the cavalry regiment when they encountered large towns and would not enter them at all. They would only take small roads and sometimes simply trample through farmland. In short, they did not want the intelligence personnel of the Eighth Route Army to know their whereabouts.
